Another online gaming fraud, but this time on a massive scale! A ₹95 crore online gaming scam involving ‘Cricket Buzz’ has come to light, tricking people into depositing money they could never withdraw.
Here’s how the police uncovered it.
What the Police Uncovered?
It all started with a gaming app called Cricket Buzz, which promised users a chance to double or even triple their money through online games or simple tasks. Sounds tempting, right? That’s what the scammers were counting on.
According to the report, like other online gaming scams, the gang used WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook to target people and lure them by promising huge returns and opportunities to earn money.
Once users showed interest, they were to asked create an ID on the fake website (https://allpanels.com.in). However, in the hope of making quick money, many people overlooked the fake-looking design of the website, wrong spellings, etc as shown in the image below.
Post registration, they were redirected to the payment page where they needed to deposit an amount to unlock the offer. The more they invested, the bigger the promised rewards.
But there was just one problem, the winnings never came. Instead, the scammers vanished, taking ₹95 crore across 208 accounts with them!
The police got involved when 45 such complaints were registered by different victims across states.
On digging deeper, Police concluded that this wasn’t just a small group pulling off the scam. There were connections outside India, including Sri Lanka and the UAE.
The gang originally operated from Azamgarh, but when a complaint was filed in November 2024, they quickly packed up and moved to Varanasi to avoid under the radar.
But their luck ran out when several similar complaints were registered in different parts of the country.
After a long investigation, seven people were arrested, six from Uttar Pradesh and one from West Bengal.
Shockingly, the police also discovered 45 different complaints from across India, proving just how widespread this scam was.
Final Thought
This case is yet another reminder of how online fraudsters are getting smarter by the day.
They use flashy offers, fake promises, and psychological tricks to lure people in. So, if a gaming app promises easy money, think twice. Always verify before investing, stay alert, and remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
In case you or your known ones have been trapped in one or other such scam, don’t panic and take immediate action. Learn ways to report online frauds in India to increase the chances of recovery of losses.
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